


[COMPLETE] Dawn of the Rise of the Championship of the Ribbonissa

by MeltyMetroid



Series: Championship of the Ribbonissa [1]
Category: ARMS (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Filled with headcanons since we don't know much about the characters still
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-11-30 02:02:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11453664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltyMetroid/pseuds/MeltyMetroid
Summary: One match away from the championship, Ribbon Girl is left in despair after finding she'll be up against The Commish himself. It's up to Min Min to prepare her for the battle ahead.





	1. Penultimate Punching

**Author's Note:**

> Intending to post updates regularly!
> 
> Characters may differ heavily from their official portrayals as this is being written before much official characterization has been supplied by Nintendo.
> 
> Strong elements of RibMin (Ribbon Girl/Min Min), but it isn't the immediate focus of the story. Also some SpringJara (Spring Man/Ninjara), but much less present than RibMin.
> 
> No sexual content. Violence is only present in the same way violence is present in ARMS itself.
> 
> I also don't do much proof reading before posting, so apologies if there are spelling/grammatical issues anywhere!

Ribbon Girls’ padded and spongy glove swung toward Helix in a sharp curve, connecting against the side of his squishy face and sending him flying into the large glass tube behind him, shattering it into tiny pieces and launching the mysterious green gunk it had been holding all across the floor. And with that, the whistle sounded across the arena, and the crowd began to cheer. 

“It’s a clear win for Ribbon Girl tonight, folks!” Biff cheered. “This puts The Airess up to the finals coming up next week, don’t miss it!” 

The crowd began to chant her name as she waved her ARMS in the air happily, blowing kisses to all her adoring fans. “Thank youuuu!” She giggled. 

Helix leant up and held his head. “Blulululululu?” Ribbon Girl extended a hand to him and helped him to his gooey feet, and they shook. Great game. Fair game. Good, clean fighting, as ARMS should be. 

The crowd’s cheers grew distant as the two headed back behind the scenes. Helix made a strange noise and held something of a thumbs-up out to Ribbon Girl before they parted ways, and she waved goodbye to him because that’s the best she could figure he meant. 

Now alone, she could take a moment to herself to relax. She closed the changing room door behind her and began whistling one of her songs as she changed into more civilian attire. She felt a sense of pride in herself - she’d come so far, and done so well. She was so in the zone that she barely had to try, it all just came to her naturally, like dancing to and old and nostalgic song. 

Her phone buzzed and she got to her feet, heading for the back door of the stadium. It was quiet back here, with no one around except her and a young lady sat upon an old and quaint little car. 

“Hey sweetie!” Ribbon Girl smiled, throwing her gym bag into the air. 

Min Min swung an ARM up and snatched it quickly, before bringing it down and placing it through the window of her car and onto the back seat. “How’d it go?” 

Ribbon Girl slide her eyebrows down and placed a hand on her hip, staring at Min Min with a smile. “You tell me.” 

“I didn’t watch it!” Min Min smiled back. “I was busy. Had stuff to do.” 

Ribbon Girl didn’t budge, still staring at her with a sly smile, silent. 

“I didn’t! I was serving ramen. The whole place was packed. Didn’t get a chance to tune in.” 

More silence. 

Finally, Min Min snorted and began to laugh heavily. “Okayyyy, yessss, fineeee, _of course_ I watched it!” She swept her ramen-like hair away from her eyes. “ _And_ you were amazing. _Obviously_.” 

Ribbon Girl giggled, leaning forward and kissing Min Min lightly. “You _always_ pretend you were ‘too busy’ to watch it!” 

“And you never believe me!” 

“Yeah. Because you do it _every week!_ ” She wrapped her ARMS around Min Min and hugged her closely. “I really was good this time though, right? It felt like I was good.” 

Min Min returned the hug happily. “You were incredible! Your feet barely touched the ground, you were practically walking on air! If he hadn’t backed you up against that bomb, you would have PERFECT’d him easily.” 

Ribbon Girl sighed unbotheredly. “Well, can’t PERFECT ‘em every time, they’d just ban me from the tournies~” 

Min Min unlocked her car and opened the door for Ribbon Girl. “So, next week is the Final! You nervous?” 

“Nah.” She shrugged. “I’ve fought Master Mummy before, he’s not as tough as he looks. Just gotta keep skippin’ across the air like a ballerina.” She sat herself down in the passenger seat. It was a little warm inside, but that’s to be expected in the summer heat. “I guess it could go either way, really. But it’s always a good clean fight with Mummy, I don’t mind losing to him if I do.”

“Well, you know I’ll be watching with my eyes glued to the screen! …Unless I’m just _suuuuper busy_ again~” She laughed at her own joke for the hundredth time as she sat herself down in the driver’s seat. “But hey, that’s next week. Any plans for the time in between…?”

“Mmmm… Just hanging out with my girlfriend, really.” She smiled.

“Darn! I was gonna see if you wanted to catch a movie, or play some games, or maybe share some ramen…”

“Oh hush!” She giggled. “But a movie does sound good, hope you’ve got some good picks.”

They exchanged another kiss and Min Min started up the car.


	2. Airess in Distress

Following Ribbon Girls’ win on Sunday, the couple spent a relatively quiet night in with some DvDs and some duvets.

Monday was a similarly quiet day, spent in each other’s company in and around Mintendo Noodle House as they helped out Min Min’s parents and signed the occasional autograph for customers who were shocked to find Ribbon Girl around.

On Tuesday they went to an empty part of the beach, relaxing in the sun and dipping their toes in the sea. They met up briefly with BYTE and BARQ, who were patrolling nearby, and Min Min once again repeated her joke about trying to feed BARQ a dog biscuit and being shocked to find he has no mouth.

For Wednesday they decided to flex their ARMS a bit, and went for some volleyball. Neither were playing particularly seriously, and generally had more fun trying to do increasingly stupid trickshots. A couple hours in, they were surprised to see Spring Man and Ninjara arrive at the court next to them, and they played a couple matches together - split into teams, the girlfriends VS the boyfriends. It wasn’t really clear who won in the end because neither team seemed to actually pay attention to keeping score, but they all had fun.

… And then came Thursday.

Early in the morning, Ribbon Girl awoke to an empty bed and lazily stretched herself out across it. She sighed deeply from a good night’s sleep and got to her feet, slipping into some cute fluffy slippers beside the bed. She came down the stairs and found Min Min cooking at the stove.

“Heya Ribs! You were sleeping real cutely so I didn’t wanna wake you.”

“That’s a funny looking ramen, Min. Is it supposed to be so round?” She giggled.

“Hah. Hah. Hah. And you say  _ I _ repeat my jokes too much!” She flipped a pancake in her pan with a near perfect flip.

Ribbon Girl grabbed the syrup from the cupboard and sat down, curiously raising an eyebrow at an envelope left on the table.

“Oh, right, yeah - there’s a letter for you. Looks important.”

The envelope was sealed with red wax, stamped with the ARMS tournament icon. “Nah, it’s just one of those usual ‘Here is the date & time of your next match!! Don’t be late!!!’ type of letters, I think.” She opened it lazily.

“How many ‘cakes you want, hun?” She waited for a response, but one didn’t come. “Ribs? How many ‘cakes? ...That’s short for pancakes.” With still no response, she turned to look at her girlfriend, who was staring at the letter with a look of  _ dread _ . “Ribs? Everything okay…?”

“I…” She closed the letter quietly and put it down flat on the table. “Oh, uh, it’s nothing…” She kept her eyes low and spoke quietly. “I’ll just have two pancakes, if that’s okay.”

“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong…?”

She shook her head sadly.

“Ribs…” She repeated, not commandingly, but cautiously.

She took a deep breath and picked the letter back up. “...I’m up against Max Brass again.”   
  


Roughly two years ago, a young and cheery Ribbon Girl entered the ARMS annual tournament with high hopes and a bright and budding attitude.

She was already a fairly well known singer, but she had only bared ARMS for a few short weeks by the time the tourney began. She took to them like a true natural, swinging like a pro right from the get go, and her incredible air maneuverability struck awe in all those she faced off against.

To her surprise, and to the surprise of many of her new fans, she soared through the ranks quite quickly - until she entered the final, just as cheery as ever. And there she fought off against the long-time champion: Max Brass.

Brass was a smug man with a ton of hammy personality. He took hubris to a whole new level, flaunting his stardom every chance he got, with bellowing laughs and bright shining teeth. And the audience? They  _ loved _ him. Every match he faced off in was crowded by dozens and dozens of people dressed in his likeness, far outnumbering those there to support his rival. He was the undefeated champion for years and years, and every smackdown he dealt to a new challenger was met with thunderous applause.

And then, as a young lady, Ribbon Girl was pitched to fight him. And he  _ trounced _ her. Every punch he swung smacked her with incredible force, launching her against the railings of the stage and making the crowd go wild. She remembered distinctly pushing herself back onto her feet as the crowd chanted ‘BRASS! BRASS! BRASS’, and the man himself flexed for them smugly.

She was barely able to get a couple lucky hits in, which he shrugged off like it was nothing. She was exhausted from dodging and swinging and trying with all her might to stay in the game, but it was all just delaying the inevitable. There was no way she could beat him. He wasn’t even breaking a sweat. And as the crowd continued their undying support for him, she began to feel ganged up on - was anyone rooting for her? Anyone at all? Or were they all just waiting to see their hero smash another rival into the ground like it was nothing?

Well, that’s exactly what happened. With plenty of time on the clock to spare, Max Brass finished Ribbon Girl off with a swift grab and a hard swing onto the rings’ floor. The crowd cheered loudly, and Ribbon Girl bit her lip hard to stop it wobbling. Brass flexed for the crowd as she quietly and shakily got to her feet and headed over to the changing rooms, leaving Brass behind to continue his famous gloating.

Ribbon Girl went home that night and wrapped herself up tightly in a blanket, keeping herself far away from any and all mention of the fight. Even then, catching a glance of the headline in the morning paper -  _ MAX BRASS DOES IT AGAIN! _ \- made her shake. It took a very, very long time to recover from it all. And in a lot of ways, she never really did. She couldn’t bare to think about it. She couldn’t ever forget the humiliation she felt on hearing the cheers of the crowd as she fell to the floor. It was, for her, absolutely traumatic.

In time, she went back to ARMS fighting. Nothing serious at first, just a few fun scraps with some up-and-comers. No use putting the gift of ARMS to waste, after all.

And after some years, Max Brass - the still undefeated champion - stood down from his throne to tour the world and meet with his admirers all across the globe. The position of champion began to trade hands rather frequently. It was now an achievable goal, one that anyone had a shot at.

And so, despite everything that happened, Ribbon Girl was able to convince herself to give it another shot. To go for that championship one more time, knowing full well that if she made it to the finals her opponent would be just another fighter like her. She wouldn’t have to suffer a humiliation like that again.

 

“... Max Brass is back in the championship seat.”

“Wait wait wait, what do you mean Brass is back? I thought he quit?”

“Mm. Well I guess he’s done with his tour.” Ribbion Girl tucked her shoulders inwards, clearly uncomfortable with all the memories coming back to her. “Mummy agreed to a quick match between the two of them to see who would keep the throne.” She bit her lip, speaking quietly. “... Brass PERFECT’d him.”

“Oh God.” Min Min clicked the stove off and went to sit next to Ribbon Girl. “...You okay?”

She ducked her head against Min Min’s shoulder, staring off into the distance. “...Mm.”

“...You gonna be okay for the fight?”

“Mm.” The wall clock ticked slowly in the silence. “Can’t just throw in the towel. Even if I know he’ll wipe the floor with me.” Her lip began to wobble a bit too. “I probably should have been training this week, too. So I  _ really _ have no shot now.”

“Hey, it’s not too late!” Min Min laid her head on Ribbon Girls’. “You wanna do some training before Sunday? Throw a couple punches to get you in the groove?”

“No.” She snapped. “What’s even the point? Nothing like that would prepare me for-” She bit into her lip hard, shutting her eyes tightly and trying to stop being so emotional.

Min Min rubbed her back. “It’s okay, it’s okayyyy! Look, we’ll train a bit this afternoon and just kinda hone your skills a bit. You’ve come a long way since all that in the past, and that Brass bozo will be old and rusty. You can do it.”

“Mm.” She responded quietly, before laying her head closer against Min Min. “... Thanks.”

The two ate their breakfast and continued on their day, though admittedly the tone was still off. It was clear that Ribbon Girl couldn’t get it off her mind so easily, and she seemed distracted in everything they did that followed.

They trained briefly later on, with some extra assistance from Spring Man and Ninjara, who were happy to tag along and vary her opponent a bit. She did incredibly well against them, but it didn’t seem to help her outlook on it all - it just wasn’t  _ the same _ . Even an impressive PERFECT against Spring Man wasn’t enough to convince her otherwise. None of it compared to what Brass would have in store for her. So what difference did any of it make?

It was a little awkward between the four of them, having Ribbon Girl express her doubts so openly, and looking at it all so pessimistically. She knew they wanted to help, and of course she appreciated that, but she just couldn’t hide how  _ meaningless _ she felt it all was.

Min Min could see how this was all affecting Ribbon Girl, and it hurt to see her go through that. Quietly, she dipped away for a moment while Ribbon Girl was busy fighting Ninjara, and made a quick phone call.


	3. A More Fitting Opponent

The next day, Friday,  the two headed out for more of what Ribbon Girl dubbed “useless training”, still set in her pessimistic ways and unwilling to look at the situation positively. However, rather than heading out to the training grounds, Min Min drove straight past the exit.

“...Min? ...You missed the turn?” Ribbon Girl pointed out, confused.

“I know, don’t worry. Just thought we’d stop by one of your fans real quick.”

“Oh?” Briefly, a smile went on her face. She did love to see her fans, after all. “Oh shoot, I should have brought some merch for them. Usually I give them bracelets or keychains…”

“Don’t worry about it. Really!” She laughed. “I’m pretty sure she’s got all the Ribbon Girl merch under the sun. She’s a  _ super _ fan, y’know.”

Ribbon Girl smiled softly.

Min Min pulled up into a driveway in front of a large garage door, and the two got out.

“How do I look?” Ribbon Girl asked, fluffing out her clothes a bit and running her hands over her ribbons.

“You look great~” Min Min planted a small kiss on her lips. “Now c’mon!”

She pressed a button beside the garage door and it buzzed. A split second later a second buzz came, and the garage door began to open, revealing behind it a small teenager in some goggles and oil-stained clothes.

“H-H-H-Hi Ribbon Girl!!” She smiled brightly.

“O-Oh! I know you! You’re, um… Mechanica, yeah?” She smiled back.

Mechanica suppressed something of a squeal and nodded rapidly. “Y-Yes! I’ve been at a whole bunch of your concerts and fights! And you’ve signed my-” She rushed over to the side of the room and pressed herself up against an old poster of Ribbon Girl from her early concert days. “-My poster of you from the Ribbon Xpress tour! And-” She rushed over again to a tool box on her garage floor and yanked out a large wrench from it. “-And my X09 Adjustable Wide-Jaw Wrench!”

“Yeah, I remember that! It’s not every day I sign a wrench.” Ribbon Girl giggled. “I’m still surprised you got that through security. Thank god you didn’t whack me with it.”

Mechanica laughed heartily. “No no no, of course not! I just wanted you to sign it ‘cause I use it, like, a  _ ton _ so it’d be super sweet to have your signature on it.” She ran her finger over the signature. “I actually engraved it into it once I got home, ‘cause I knew that ink was gonna smudge  _ real _ bad! So I was really careful with the-”

“Mechanica!” Min Min interrupted her. “Gettin’ a lil carried away?”

She blushed. “Y-Yes, sorry! Follow me, it’s in the back.”

Ribbon Girl seemed confused, but followed the two of them back through a door at the other end of the garage, and into the large scrap yard behind.

Mechanica ran up to the yellow bucket-shaped mech suit lying in the middle of the yard. “Here she is! I’ve spent ages fine-tuning: getting the weight shifting right, getting the bulk-up to work accordingly… It even flexes at the right times!”

“... Flexes?”

“ _ And _ I’ve done this super cool thing where I took a  _ bunch _ of old Max Brass footage and fed it into this algorithm, and it’s pretty much learnt his fighting style to a tee!”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait. Stop.” Ribbon girl didn’t seem amused. “What’s going on here?” She flicked her head back and forth between her girlfriend and Mechanica, who looked frozen.

Min Min shrugged, a little nervous. “... You said fighting me, Spring, & Ninjara was useless ‘cause it wasn’t the same as fighting Brass. So I called up Mechanica to lend a hand.”

Mechanica gave a big thumbs up, smiling brightly.

Ribbon Girl still seemed unamused. “No. I’m not fighting this thing.”

Mechanica looked like her heart had just been crushed.

“Wait, don’t be so quick to say that!” Min Min put a hand on Ribbon Girls’ shoulder. “Mechanica’s done a real good job, it’ll be just like fighting the real deal, and you’ll have _plenty_ of time to practice!”

Mechanica nodded. “I-I’m pretty sure it’s as accurate as it can be! I still have to sit inside, but that’s mostly to counter-shift the weight - the rest of it is automated, a-according to the algorithm!”

Ribbon Girl groaned, her ARMS folded. “...Fine. We’ll try it. But I’m still not convinced.”

Mechanica smiled nervously. “I-I’ll get inside!” And hopped into the yellow tin can as quickly as she could.

Min Min kissed Ribbon Girls’ cheek. “You’ve got this, yeah?”

“...Mm.”

The match began as Min Min blew her whistle and, thirty seconds later, she blew it again - Mechanica had PERFECT’d Ribbon Girl.

“You okay, hun?” Min Min asked, rushing over.

Ribbion Girl got up slowly and groaned. “... Okay. Fancy robot, I suppose.”

Mechanica smiled.

“Yeah, I’ll say! You enter that thing into any tourney and you’re practically guaranteed the gold, Mechanica!”

She giggled. “W-Well, according to the rules I’d have to disable all the automated stuff and control it one-to-one! But thank you anyway~” Her mech flexed an ARM.

Ribbon Girl got back to her feet and wiped some dust from her skirt. “Right. Let’s give it another go, then.”

Another match took place, with Mechanica taking another victory.

“You got me with my guard down.” Ribbon Girl panted. “Again. Go.”

A third match. And then a fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth. All matches ended in victory for Mechanica, with Ribbon Girl on the floor in the dirt.

She groaned, clearly very peeved.

“Um… Do you wanna keep going or…?” Mechanica asked nervously as her mech flexed to the non-existent crowd.

Ribbon Girl got to her feet. “Stop. Flexing.” She sounded deadly serious.

Min Min grit her teeth.

“O-Oh, uh… I-I can’t really switch that one specific thing off, it’s all controlled by one big algor-”

“SWITCH IT OFF.” Ribbon Girl shouted.

Mechanica froze in place and quietly flicked the off switch on her mech, causing the whole thing to droop over slightly with her inside.

Ribbon Girl stared at Mechanica with  _ disdain _ . “You… You really think this is supposed to help me?”

Mechanica didn’t respond.

“You really think smacking me around with your  _ stupid  _ robot does me  _ any _ good? You really think I’m gonna learn  _ anything _ from this nonsense?”

“I-I could… Lower the difficulty, if that’s what y-you…” She spoke quietly and nervously, very uncomfortable in her current situation.

“Oh,  _ shut up _ .” Ribbon Girl groaned. “ _ You don’t even have ARMS! _ Anyone could beat anyone if you just had to build a big dumb robot.”

Mechanica didn’t respond, and did her best to keep her eyes held wide open, because she knew blinking them would start the waterworks.

“Ribs.” Min Min interrupted.

“Not now.” Ribbon Girl rejected, not even turning to face her.

“RIBS.” Min Min insisted, raising her voice. She pointed to the garage, eyes still locked on her. “Get inside. Now.” She spoke clearly, with something of a fury lying beneath.

Ribbon Girl was taken aback a bit by it, but turned and headed into the garage. She leant up against the wall inside and slid down it, sitting herself on the garage floor. She stared into nothingness for a moment, before bursting into tears.

Min Min entered a couple minutes later, after having taken some time to reassure Mechanica that Ribbon Girl was under a  _ lot _ of stress and her outburst was entirely misdirected.

Min Min had planned to give Ribbon Girl a real talking down - how  _ dare _ she treat a fan like that. Someone who offered to help her, who put in so much time and effort to do so. Girlfriend or not, that wasn’t something Min Min would let slide. But, seeing Ribbon in such a state, slouched in the corner with tears running down her face, did a lot to negate the anger Min Min had built up. Ribbon Girl already knew how out of line all that was - she regretted it the moment she said it. But failure upon failure can torment a person, and sometimes emotions just bottle up to the point where the bottle can’t help but burst.

She slid down the wall beside Ribbon Girl. “... Hey.”

“H-Hey…” Ribbon Girl responded, sniffling.

“You’re really not doing okay with this Max Brass stuff, are you?”

She shook her head from side to side rapidly.

“Look, Ribs… I get that everything that happened back then was heavy. And I know I can’t begin to imagine how humiliating that was for you. But look what it’s done to you!”

Ribbon Girl brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her ARMS around them, resting her chin as she stared at the floor.

“You’re stressed out, Ribs. Badly. And I hate to see this happening to you all ‘cause of some smug bozo.” She leant an ARM around Ribbon Girl, holding her close. “... It’s important for you to enter this fight, isn’t it?”

She nodded softly.

“Then by all means, get in that ring and fight. Give it all you got. And maybe you’ll win, maybe you won’t. But you know what?” She leant her head against Ribbon Girls’. “Win or lose, you know you’re coming home to me. You know we’re sharing ramen for dinner and you know we’re sharing a bed at night. No matter what happens in that ring, none of that is going to change.”

Ribbon Girl moved closer into Min Min and hugged her tightly, still sobbing quietly. “... I-I was so r-rude to Mechanica…”

“She’ll understand. And I’ll make sure you make it up to her.”

She nodded against Min Min’s chest.

After a decent while the two of them came out of the garage and back into the scrap yard, where Mechanica was sitting cross-legged atop a pile of scrap. Her eyes were damp and pinkened, much like Ribbon Girls’, and to a lesser extent Min Min’s.

Ribbon Girl hugged her tightly and apologized profusely, and when all was said and done they left on generally good terms, driving away and heading home as the sunset for a quiet night in to try and unwind as best they could.


	4. Foregone Conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually proof read this one! I'm feel so professional!

Saturday morning, the day before the championship fight.

Min Min slowly brought her eyes open as she began to awaken. Sunlight was finding its way past the cracks in the curtains, giving the whole room a warm summery feel thankfully more alike a fresh and vibrant cool wind in a green field than hot and groggy heatwave. It was that sweet spot of the year that you’d imagine people who prefer summer over winter are thinking of when they express that opinion.

She gave a small stretch, freeing a leg from beneath the thin blanket she was sharing with Ribbon Girl, and sighed in a relaxed manner, cuddling her face back up against the soft pillow she was laying on. As if in response to her squeaks, Ribbon Girl slipped her arms around Min Min tightly, hugging against her from behind as they laid there.

“Oh?” Min Min smiled. “I didn’t think you were up yet!”

“Just barely.” Ribbon Girl responded in a quiet, sleepy voice. “My body’s still all achy from yesterday’s training.”

“Mmmm.” Min Min pressed her cheek against Ribbon Girl’s hand. “Well you can relax all day today. We’ll lounge around together and just take it easy.”

“Mm…” Ribbon Girl moaned in response, though in a way decipherably different to a ‘yes’. She pressed her forehead against the back of Min Min’s head. “... Sorry again for exploding yesterday. I-I know you and Mechy were just trying to help.”

“Mmm.” She kissed Ribbon Girl’s hand. “You know we won’t hold that against you. You were just under a lot of stress.”

“Yeah…” She sighed. “I just… What will it mean for me to lose a fight like that? I just feel like my whole life is gonna flip upside down…”

“Well.” Min Min rolled herself around in place until she faced Ribbon Girl directly, and placed and arm around her in return. “You’ll still have me. That’s not gonna change!”

Ribbon Girl smiled softly.

“Win or lose, you’re coming home with me and we’re gonna have a nice big dinner together.” She brushed Ribbon Girl’s cheek with her thumb. “And then we’re gonna get nice and comfy on the sofa and watch all sorts of dumb movies ‘til we fall asleep.” She leant forward a bit and kissed her forehead. “And when you wake up on Monday you’re gonna wake up right beside me, as always. And nothing is going to change that.” She gave another kiss, this time to her lips, softly.

Ribbon Girl pressed her head to Min Min’s chest. “Thanks, Min.” The grip of her hug tightened. “That really does help.”

At little past noon the two of them were sat together having breakfast while looking through various magazines that had been delivered in the early morning. They were both rather energetic and playful, laughing at the silly expressions on Helix’s face each time he appeared in ‘ARMS Weekly’ and dramatically dragging out each S as they read aloud this issue of ‘Sk8 Snake’. Teases of Twintelle’s new movie were also rather eye-catching, and the prospect of a new cat-themed BARQ model named MYEW left them both rather jaw-dropped.

It wasn’t until the end of their breakfast, as Min Min began cleaning away their dishes, when the subject of the tournament came back to the forefront.

“... Hey, Min? Sweetie?” Ribbon Girl asked from her seat, twiddling her ribbon-hair with her finger.

“Mm?” Min Min responded, still working away at the sink.

“... Do you think we could maybe do a bit more training? I-I’d just feel a bit better taking it easy if I’d done at least some today, y’know?”

Min Min shrugged. “I mean… If you want to, sure. What kind of training did you have in mind?”

Ribbon Girl drew out the silence a bit. “... Do you think… Mechanica still has her mech set to that Brass stuff?”

Min Min turned to face her. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Well I just feel like it’s the only thing that’d prepare me…” She didn’t make eye contact, still pretty embarrassed about the events that unfolded the day before.

“I can give Mechanica a call. But you’re gonna have to be much more level headed, yeah?”

She nodded quickly. “Yes. Yes, definitely. I-I promise I won’t blow up like that again.”

“Even if…” Min Min cleared her throat, taking her eyes away from Ribbon Girl for a moment, uncomfortable bringing up her inadequacies knowing how insecure she was feeling already. “... Even if you have trouble striking the mech again?”

She frowned. “.... Y-Yeah. I’m just gonna try to not let it get to me so much.” She smiled, a little forcefully.

Min Min smiled back. “Well… Let’s give it a shot, then.”

The two headed back to Mechanica’s garage shortly after, having arranged another training session over the phone. The air between Ribbon Girl and Min Min was still pretty playful, and the car ride there was very chatty.

Once they had arrived Mechanica greeted them again with a wide smile, though not quite as enthusiastically as she had been the day before. “My mech is in the back again!” She said, leading them behind the garage and into the scrap yard. “I’ve not really tweaked it much since yesterday, b-but I, uhh... “ She cleared her throat. “I made it so I can turn that flexing stuff off, if you want. I-It doesn’t really serve a purpose to the fight, after all.”

Mechanica climbed into her yellow bucket-shaped mech and Ribbon Girl took a stance across the scrap yard.

“Okay, so, um. What kind of settings do you want me to go for here?”

“Same as yesterday. No flexing.” Ribbon Girl replied bluntly, trying to get herself focused.

“Good luck, hun.” Min Min smiled, backing away from the ensuing fight.

Mechanica flipped some switches on the dashboard of her mech. “Okey dokey, all set. Here we go…!”

Forty seconds later, Ribbon Girl was knelt on the dusty floor of the scrap yard, panting harshly. She had lost again. Badly.

“I-If you’d like, we could warm up with the difficulty lo-”

Ribbon Girl cut her off. “NO.” She blurted, nearly shouting. She caught herself quickly, taking a deep breath and calming herself. “... N-No. Let’s just keep going as we are.”

The second fight went almost exactly as the first.

“A-Again.” She panted. Mechanica looked uneasy, and Min Min was chewing on her lip.

The third fight was a slight improvement, with a couple extra hits in by Ribbon Girl, but ultimately ended much the same way.

“Keep it coming.”

“A-Are you s-”

Ribbon Girl cut her off again. “Yeah. Keep it coming.”

The fourth fight was the worst so far, with Ribbon Girl not able to land a single hit, and Mechanica’s mech PERFECTing her with ease.

“.......... Again.”

“... Okay.” Mechanica said rather quietly, with her eyes to the dashboard.

Fight number five. After about a minute and a half, Ribbon Girl landed the finishing blow again Mechanica’s mech. She herself had taken quite the beating, but she had managed to return the favour to an impressive degree, and the match ultimately turned in her favour.

“YEAH!” Min Min shouted from the sidelines. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” She had a big bright smile on her face, beaming with pride.

“Th-That was really something!” Mechanica joined in. “Great moves!”

But Ribbon Girl wasn’t smiling. “................ You turned the difficulty down. Didn’t you?”

Min Min’s smile faded into a look of shock and disappointment. She could feel her heart sink in her chest.

Mechanica’s grin wobbled a bit. “Wh-Wha? What do you m-”

“Don’t lie to me, Mechanica.” Ribbon Girl removed her mask, uncurling her ARMS. She marched over to where Mechanica and her mech were slanted. “Did you change the difficulty or not?”

Min Min rushed over beside her, still silent, still shocked.

Mechanica’s smile was really falling apart now. “I-I… I just thought it w-would help to-”

“YOU-” She stopped herself again, taking a deep breath, though it didn’t do much to calm her. “... Fine.” Ribbon Girl turned around and marched back toward the garage. “I don’t even care anymore.”

Min Min watched as Ribbon Girl entered the garage, leaving the two of them behind in the scrap yard. She turned to face Mechanica, who’s lip was quiviering.

“I-I-I-I only m-meant well!” She stammered.

“I know.” Min Min hugged her. Her feelings were mixed, but she couldn’t deny that Mechanica’s intentions were good.. “L-Look, I’m sorry. This is all a big mess.”

She nodded.

“I appreciate everything you’ve done, and I know you were only trying to help. I’m sure we’ll all make up after the tourney, yeah?”

She nodded again, her eyes still welled with tears.

“... I gotta go.” She hugged Mechanica again and rushed back over to the garage, leaving mechanica to sulk quietly in her mech.

On the other exit of the garage was Ribbon Girl, who was standing arms-crossed beside their car, staring up at the sky with a look that screamed ‘unimpressed’.

“Ribs…” Min Min began.

“I don’t care.” Ribbon Girl blurted, still-faced, before a sudden look of worry washed over her face and she began to stammer. “... A-About the championship, that is. I-I still care about you.”

Min Min smiled briefly but it faded pretty quickly. “S-So… Are you just going to forfeit…?”

“No. I’ll show up. And I’ll try. And I’ll let him beat the hell out of me. And everyone will cheer.” She kept her eyes focused on the sky above. “I just want this over already. I’m so sick of this.”

Min Min unlocked the car and got into the driver’s seat as Ribbon Girl silently got in beside her. “Well… It’ll be over soon. And we can all get back to how things were. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She hadn’t lightened up at all.

“... A-And then we can work out stuff with Mechanica too, right? I’m sure she meant well…”

Ribbon Girl sighed. “I really don’t want to think about that right now. And I don’t want to think about anything to do with the stupid tourney. I don’t want to get all heated and explode again.” She placed her elbow on the side of the car door and rested her head on her hand. “Just drop me off for it tomorrow, that’s all I need. Other than that I don’t want to talk about it. At all.”

Min Min nodded. She liked the idea of putting it aside for the rest of the night, though things were still pretty tense. And they didn’t unwind much at all later that night - Ribbon Girl continued to be moody throughout the evening. Rarely smiling. Rarely even speaking.

They slept that night, as they always did, together side-by-side in the same bed. But there was little interaction between the two of them, as Ribbon Girl seemed to prefer keeping to her own side for the night. And when morning came, breakfast was rather mute and unenergetic. Ribbon Girl kept to herself as they ate, as they packed her gear, and as they took the car ride over to the stadium

Because by now Ribbon Girl wasn’t angry. Or worried. Or stressed. She just… Didn’t care.


	5. The Most Incredible Peppercorn Sauce

They arrived at the back door to the stadium, where contestants would be able to enter without being hounded by fans come to see the show, as the sky was beginning to dim to a beautiful orange glow. The car ride over had been entirely silent, and Ribbon Girl stayed continued that silence as she got out of the car.

She shut the door quietly and opened the door behind, taking her gym bag from the back seat and swinging it over her shoulder slowly. Min Min had taken this time to get out herself, coming to Ribbon Girl’s side of the car to see her off properly, as they always had, with a hug, a kiss, and a ‘good luck!’.

Ribbon Girl shut the back seat door and turned on the spot, without even a glance to Min Min, and began heading to the back entrance of the stadium. She got a couple of feet in that direction before she heard her girlfriend call out to her in an incredible tone that she had  _ never  _ heard come from her before.

“RIBBON.” She shouted with something of a fury. It wasn’t anger. No, more a mix of emotions built up after a long and stressful week.  _ Frustration  _ that she would go so long in total silence, refusing to speak much about anything at all.  _ Exhaustion  _ after so long of this overwhelmingly tense atmosphere lingering between them. And, perhaps now most of all,  _ shock  _ that Ribbon Girl would even think of leaving without a word, after all they had been through, and after all they had done for one another.

The exclamation sent a sharp shudder down Ribbon Girl’s spine and her eyes widened brightly, though she kept her back to Min Min. She felt paralyzed for a moment, as if all this time she had been not quite there, in something of a state of autopilot, and it just now hit her that she was standing between Min Min and the stadium, ready to head off to her big fight without even a ‘goodbye’.

Min Min’s eyes began to well. “You’re just gonna walk away with a word?  _ Do I mean that little to you? _ ” All that stress and worry and mixed emotion she had been bottling the past few days was coming back up, catalyst by the betrayal thrust upon her in just that moment.

Ribbon Girl turned right around quickly, her eyes streaming with tears. “N-NO! God, no!” She dropped her gym bag to the floor, rushed forward, and lunged a hug around Min Min. “You mean the world to me, I-I promise!”

Min Min wrapped her arms around her in return and collected herself. Part of her had expected Ribbon Girl to continue ignoring her, and the emotions that would have splurted out from a result like that would have been… Fierce. But almost instantaneously she had been, in a way, woken up - she wasn’t trying to be cold to Min Min, she was just overwhelmed and shut the world out. Continuing to splash around these mixed emotions within her would just make it all worse, and would hurt Ribbon Girls’ chances of winning the championship even further. That isn’t what she needed right now. It wasn’t what either of them needed.

“I-I’ve just b-been s-so…” She pressed her face against Min Min’s shoulder and sobbed into it. “ _ I’M SORRY! _ ”

Min Min held her tightly and gently shushed her, trying to help calm her down. “I-It’s okay… I understand, Ribs, I promise.” She placed her hands on either side of Ribbon Girl’s face, wiping tears away with her thumb. “Whatever happens out there today, just remember that I’m here and I love you!”

She nodded quickly. “I-I don’t even care about this stupid tourney.” She wiped her nose with a sleeve. “L-Let’s just go home.”

Min Min looked into her eyes. “Aw, Ribs… I don’t think you mean that.”

“I-I do, I just wanna b-be with you!”

“And you will be. I’ll be here after the tourney - win or lose! You know that.”

Ribbon Girl smiled. “Th… Thanks, Min.”

She kissed her forehead. “You get into that ring and you’re coming home a champion, no matter how that match plays out. That’s all it’ll take for me.”

She nodded. “Y-Yeah. I-I don’t wanna be a no show…” She sniffled. “I don’t care what  _ his  _ fans will think. M-My fans wanna see me there, even if I do get smacked around a bunch!”

“And I’ll be in that crowd too, cheering you every step of the way!” Min Min smiled back. “... And Mechanica. She’ll be there to support you too.”

“Y-Yeah. I’ll have to make it up to her… Again…” She wiped her tears with her wrist. “She really deserves a better role model than me.”

Min Min laughed. “Get in that ring and I’ll see you back here right after. Okay?”

“A-And then we can get dinner a-and watch some movies?”

“Exactly!”

They both smiled to each other and exchanged a long kiss which, admittedly, was a little gross given all the tears.

The two parted ways shortly after, with Ribbon Girl picking her gym bag back up and heading into the changing rooms of the stadium, and Min Min making her way through the crowds at the main entrance to stand among them during the show.

With just moments to go before the match began, Ribbon Girl took a second to look through some old photos of her and Min Min on her phone. It helped to warm her up a bit, knowing she could always rely on her. And she really could.

But a nagging feeling sat at the pit of her stomach. She was about to go up against Max Brass again for the first time in years, facing down her biggest fear with tons and tons of spectators watching closely, ready to cheer or boo at a moment’s notice. And it began to dawn on her that she  _ did _ care - she cared a lot about how it would feel to be humiliated like that again, and how disappointing it’d be to be going home again without the championship.

If only the championship didn’t mean so much to her. If it really,  _ truly  _ didn’t matter whether she won or lost, then maybe she’d be able to walk into that ring feeling relaxed. She’d be able to float through the air with a hum in her heart, dancing and twirling as she threw her punches in beautiful, elegant, and effective ways, the way she could when she was up against Helix or Spring Man or any other opponent she faced. But so long as the championship looming overhead mattered so,  _ so  _ much to her, she was a lost cause.

She did her best to force it out of her mind before she began feeling sick. And then the bell rang, piercing through the air and making her jump. It was time for her to enter the ring.

She placed her mask to her face, curling her ARMS out to their extended beauty, and equipped a Slapamander to her left and a Sparky to her right. She headed up the stadium stairs with her heart pounding in her chest. She reached the top step to find herself instantly surrounded by a cheering crowd spread around an open ring, eager to see the finale to another incredible tournament, and no doubt eager to see their champion back in action. She headed to the ring with her heart throbbing, jumping in and taking her place in the farmost corner. She waved to the onlooking crowd as they continued cheering, trying not to let her nerves show..

A whistle sounded from the crowd to her right, catching her by surprise. She looked over and saw Min Min waving and cheering excitedly with a big smile, standing beside Mechanica, who was wearing a shirt adorning Ribbon Girl with beautiful pinks and reds. Ribbon Girl smiled and waved to them, and for a moment she felt safe.

And then, with great gusto, the crowd’s cheering increased tenfold. Max Brass had ascended the stairs and the crowd was going wild. He flexed for them and they screeched. He posed for them and they began to chant his name. And then he turned and looked to Ribbon Girl, meeting her eye-to-eye, for the first time in two years.

“Well well well, what’d we have here, eh?” He laughed as he jumped into the ring, standing opposite her. “My, you’re skinny like a twig! I’m afraid I’ll snap ya’ in half!” The crowd’s laugh echoed around the room, sending a tight squeeze around Ribbon Girl’s heart.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Biff began over the intercom. “I’d like to welcome you all to the ARMS Single-Round Grand Prix Finale!” Another outburst of cheers came from the crowd. “In just a short moment we’ll be witnessing the championship battle of the incredible airess, Ribbon Girl, against the return of our beloved commissioner, the legendary Max Brass!”

Ribbon Girl’s legs were wobbling, and felt like they were going to give way. Brass, opposite her, stood with his head held high and a confidence unmatchable by any other man she had ever met before.

“Will Ribbon Girl take the championship? Or will Max Brass continue his era of being  _ undefeatable? _ I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait to find out! So let’s not wait a moment longer… Ready?“ 

A bead of sweat dripped down Ribbon Girl’s face, and the corner of Max Brass’ mouth raised into a smile.

“ **ARMS!** ”

And with that, the match was under way. Ribbon Girl shot first, flinging her Sparky toward Brass with great speed, who promptly flipped over it backwards like it was nothing.

She curved her Slapamander out to the left, but before it was able to connect with his face she was suddenly hit with his Nade - fully charged from landing his flip - and blown back in a fiery explosion. She fell face-first to the floor, right at the corner of the stage, and then slipped down to the lowered outer segment with a slow thud.

She took a deep breath and flipped herself back to her feet, taking note of his oncoming Nade and side-stepping it as quickly as she could… Only to be surprised by his charged Kablammer, launching her back again with another explosion.

Max Brass bellowed a laugh. “Sorry kid, but there’s a reason they call me… THE UNDEFEATED CHAMPION!”

Ribbon Girl got to her feet slowly as the crowd cheered louder, her eyes wet with coming tears, as he flexed to them smugly.

Max sent another two fists her way, and they slammed her before she could react. She was back down to the floor with only two thirds of her health remaining to Brass’ full meter. The crowd was chanting his name.

“C’mon, kid!” He chuckled. “You’re makin’ this too easy for me!”

Ribbon Girl’s knees began to shake again as she began to feel sick.

“Can’tcha even land a single hit, lil’ lady?” He laughed again. “Don’tcha like steak, eh?”

That line, more than anything, just…  _ Confused  _ her. She raised an eyebrow as she panted.

He laughed. “What, don’tcha know? The champ gets all sortsa free junk!” He grinned. “Blazers. Golf clubs. Laptops. Beanies. Take your pick!” He cracked his neck to one side, audibly. “But best of all? The champ eats for free!” He flexed. “B-e-a-utiful lil’ place down the street from ‘ere. Does the world’s best steak dinner, far as I’m concerned!” Another flex. “With the most  _ incredible  _ peppercorn sauce!” He banged his ARMS together. “And tonight? That’s where I’ll be dinin’.”

A realization suddenly sparked in her head, right as he lunged another charged Kablammer at her. Rather effortlessly, she tilted to one side and it slipped right past her. An incredible “Ohhhhhhhhh??” echoed throughout the crowd.

Brass seemed surprised. “Guess I musta piqued up that appetite of yours, eh lil’ lady?”

“No, actually.” Ribbon Girl said with sudden confidence, feet firmly on the ground, unshaken. “Win or lose… I have dinner plans already.”

She lunged her Sparky forward and he blocked with with his own ARM… Only to be hit upside the head by her Slapamander, swung only a split second after the Sparky. The hit surprised Brass, which only led to him being further caught off guard for when the Sparky returned, making full contact with his face.

His smile began to fade as he realized this fight wasn’t going to be quite as easy as he had planned. “Must be quite some plans.” He launched another Nade, fully charged.

She flipped over it, landing square on her tippy toes, then dropping her feet back flat on the ground. “They are. Because I know I could spend this whole match with my face to the floor and she’d  _ still _ be there for me.” Another dodge, followed by a quick Slapamander hit. “So what does this matter? Any of this?” Dodged a grab and followed with a Sparky. “It doesn’t. None of this actually matters. Not to me.” Blocked a whole handful of hits.

And for the first time that week, those words rang true for Ribbon Girl. She had tried as hard as she could the night before to just stop caring, all to no avail. But now? Here? Standing in the ring faced with the man she feared the most, but with the knowledge in her heart that Min Min would be there for her win or lose? She finally, truthfully, didn’t care whether she won or lost. And that was all it took.

She jumped into the air and began to hum, floating through the air like a butterfly, continuing to dance off the ground without any support. And then, with Brass holding his ARMS high, ready to strike above him at the floating target… She plunged right back down to the ground, ARMS charged instantaneously, and launched a sparky forward. Brass’ ARMS fell to the floor with a thud, and in his moment of helplessness, she lunged both of hers’ to him and pulled him off of the floor, twirling him around overhead and launching him straight to the ground in a powerful smack.

Max Brass brought himself back to his feet and began to pant a bit. He wasn’t flexing anymore, and his grin had faded entirely. “If you don’t care ‘bout all this… Why not throw the fight, eh? You’re throwin’ some mighty punches for a gal who don’t care.”

That was a good question, actually. She thought for a moment, before looking back at Brass with a smile. “I think you mentioned a free beanie?.” She jogged back and forth on her feet, beaming with energy. “I know a girl who’d like that beanie~”

Brass tried for another grab, but she dodged it quickly, jumping into the air and dancing around like a ballerina, dodging hits as best she could and dealing her own in majestic swings. Before long the crowd began to chant her name, with the distinct twinge of Min Min’s voice being the loudest among them.

With only a sliver of Brass’ health left he let out a hard grunt, and began an incredible rush attack, giving all he had in a last ditch attempt at beating Ribbon Girl. It took her by surprise, but not a second too late she pressed both her ARMS to her chest and raised her shield, absorbing every rapid hit as it came, until her shield was a sour red… But it didn’t snap. Not before Brass’ rush was over, leaving him stunned at her incredible reflexes.

Without another thought, she launched both ARMS forth and grabbed him by the collar, pulling herself over to him before swinging him overhead as she cheered her signature move. “ _ Ribbonado!!! _ ”

The crowd went wild as she slammed Brass to the floor, knocking that final hit point off, and sending the crowd into and eruptious applause.

“Ladies and gentlemen, an incredible thing has happened here tonight,” Biff began over the loudspeaker. “The ‘Undefeated’ Champion has officially been defeated!” Confetti began to pour down from the sky. “ _ And Ribbon Girl is  _ **_our new champion!_ ** ”

She held her head high and stuck her ARMS in the air, as the adoring crowd cheered for her to no end. After everything she had been through, she had done it. She was the ARMS champion. Her heart pounded in her chest not with fear, but with unfaulting self-pride.

Love you guys!~” She cheered out to the adoring crowd, holding her hands to over her heart.

Suddenly she felt a hand grab her wrist and turned to see Max Brass beside her, stood with a proud smile on his face and finally over the shock and awe of losing. He dragged her ARM into the air above them. “GET A LOAD ‘O THIS GAL RIGHT HERE, GUYS & GALS!” He grinned. “GIVE IT UP FOR YOUR  _ NEW CHAMPION _ !”

The crowd burst into another loud applause. She looked to him in awe.

“You did great, kid.” He smiled at her. “One ‘ell of a fight! You’ll make a fine champ.”

Her lip quivered, almost as if she were about to cry, so taken aback by the warmth he showed to her. She had spent so long with a distorted vision of him in her head of a man who would do anything to claim victory. A man who loved to win more than he cared for the sake of fairness, or good sportsmanship. But that wasn’t the kind of man Max Brass truly was. He didn’t love to win - he loved to  _ fight _ . He loved to hear the fans cheer out in support, and it didn’t matter if that support were for him or another, it just mattered it was for someone who fought with everything they had within them, the same way he fought each and every time he took to the stage himself.

And there, for a split moment, she began to see Brass not as a man to be feared but as the same Max Brass everyone else adored. The one who truly deserved to be the face of ARMS fighting, because he loved it more than anyone. Because he-

A roar echoed through the stadium and the crowd fell silent.   
“W-Wha?” Biff stammered over the intercom. “Up in the sky! W-What  _ is _ that thing?”


	6. Head to Hed

A large metallic  _ thing _ hung in the air far up above the stadium, glistening in the pinish twilight. Ribbon Girl tried to focus her eyes on it and it seemed to be glowing a strange red mist as it floated in place.

Nobody was quite sure what it was, or what to do, or even what to say. But suddenly it began to fall, flying straight down toward Ribbon Girl and Max Brass, who reacted quickly by thumping Ribbon Girl hard - pushing her far away as it came down and slammed itself onto him.

“I-It’s g-glommed onto Max’s head!!” Biff stammered over the intercom. “COMMISH?! SOMEONE, HELP HIM!”

Ribbon Girl, the closest to the Brass/creature hybrid, watched it closely from the ground she had been pushed to. It had shining golden teeth and deep sunken dips under a thick metal brow - dips where a small red light began to appear. She gazed at them, squinting to try and focus better, before they suddenly expanded to large bright red orbs with swirling white pupils. Her heart skipped a beat, but she swallowed her fears and got to her feet, watching as portions of its metal faces jirated back and forth.

She put her ARMS up ready for a fight, just in case this thing was about to attack. In return, it forced Brass’ ARMS up too. At the very least, if she were to fight this… Thing, it’d be a fair fight.

And then it drew a long breath and roared again, extending an additional four long ARMS from its metal skull, each baring duplicates of Brass’ gloves - Nades on its right ARMS, Kablammers on its left.

The crowd was stunned, still silent and unmoving, until the creature snapped its head back and stared at them. Several people screamed and began dashing to the exits as quickly as they could, the whole crowd trying to escape from possible danger as quickly as possible.

Ribbon Girl lunged her Sparky to it, smacking it in the back of the head, and causing it to snap its attention back to her. She had planned a confident taunt to it - something along the lines of “hey, bub, look at me!”, but words failed her once she was back face-to-face with it. She knew she wanted its attention off of the fleeing crowd, but as a result its attention was now squarely on her.

It road and began to throw ARMS at her. She jumped and flipped, dodging four of them, but getting caught by two Nades. It dodged her Slapamander with ease, then smacked her around with all six of its ARMS - both the artificial four from its skull and the two taken from Max Brass alike.

She picked herself up, panting hard. She wasn’t sure how she could beat this thing. It wasn’t like going up against Brass, this simply thing wasn’t a fair fight at all - it had  _ six _ ARMS to her  _ two _ .

She looked to the crowd, which was thinning quickly, and caught eyes with Min Min. Min Min’s eyes perked up a bit, noticing she needed help, and she began to run toward the announcement stand where Biff was situated.

“Biff!” She yelled, making him jump. “Is this supposed to happen?”

“Wha…? N-No!” He stammered.

“So I don’t risk Ribbon Girl’s championship if I jump in?”

“No, not at all! I-If you can help the Commish,  _ please _ do!”

She reached into her pocket quickly as she ran toward the ring, slipping on her mask as she jumped over the barrier, and landing with her ARMS outstretched. She pulled one back before curving it forward, launching a Ramram into the back of Hedlok’s metal skull. It turned sharply to face her and she began to dodge and weave her way around its ARMS.

Ribbon Girl continued to fight from the other side, smacking it while its back was turned and it couldn’t defend itself or even see her attacks coming. It flipped its attention back and forth between the two of them as they fought it, though it still put up an incredible fight and seemed to have an absurd amount of durability to it.

Min Min connected a grab and threw it to the floor on the other end of the stage, sliding herself beside Ribbon Girl shortly after. “You okay?”

Ribbon Girl nodded. “What  _ is _ that thing?”

“No idea.” They watched as it slowly got back to Brass’ feet. “But it sure knows how to take a beating.”

“This is so unfair.” Ribbon Girl squeaked. “I’m glad I’m not against it alone now, but even still, it’s got  _ six _ ARMS to our  _ four! _ ”

It roared again, and they put their ARMS up, ready for it. But just as they did, a shout came from the other end of the remaining crowd. “OUT THE WAY!”

The crowd quickly parted itself in shock as a yellow bucket-like machine thrust past and flung over the ring’s barrier, landing squarely between Ribbon Girl and Min Min.

Mechanica smiled at the two of them, sitting in her mech, her still wearing her pink shirt adorned with Ribbon Girl’s posed figure. “If we hold out a little longer I think I can disconnect that thing from Brass’ head.”

She gasped as six ARMS rushed toward them, and they each dodged to the side quickly to avoid them. Ribbon Girl distracted it with another charged Sparky, disabling its ARMS just long enough to get a good hit in with her Slapamander.

“Is that thing still tuned to Brass’ fighting style?” Min Min questioned.

Mechanica nodded. “I’m gonna keep it on autopilot while I try to get that thing disconnected.” She hammered away at the buttons on her dashboard quickly. “W-We just have to keep it busy!”

The fight went on, with both sides now equally matched - the Brass/creature hybrid with its six ARMS total on one end, and Ribbon Girl, Min Min, and Mechanica on the other end.

“Not much longer!” Mechanica called out as her mech dodged past a Kablammer.

Ribbon Girl zapped it again with her Sparky, and Min Min followed it up with a quick grab, slamming it to the ground hard.

“I’m almost there!”

Mechanica’s mech stunned it with its Whammer, then knocked it far back with an explosive Homie shot. When it got back to Brass’ feet, Ribbon Girl lit it ablaze with her Slapamander, and Min Min blasted it with her Dragon.

It began to move as if it were getting tired - their joint attempt at stalling it certainly seemed to be working! But then, with another mighty roar, it began to glow a thick yellow mist around it.

“I’m done!” Mechanica smiled brightly, taking her eyes up off her dashboard and sending them forward, pointed right toward a large blistering fireball that had been launched her way. Time seemed to slow for a moment as the world fell silent around her, and this incredible meteor got closer and closer. She shut her eyes tightly and tensed her body, unsure of the exact pain she was about to endure.

But instead, she heard a clanging noise. She opened her eyes wide to see Ribbon Girl in front of her, swooped in at the last second, blocking the fireball with her shield - it clanged continuously as it deepend in shade to until it was a brittle red, but the fireball dispersed before it was able to break it.

Ribbon Girl turned her head back behind her, smiling at Mechanica with pride. Mechanica’s heart skipped a beat, unbelievably thankful for not instantly being turned to toast by a mysterious body-snatching creature fallen from the sky.

“MECHY!” Min Min shouted from the other end of the stage. 

She gasped, realizing she had completed the program she needed. She leant herself forward sharpy, grabbing a lever at the center of her mech’s dashboard, and yanked it back. A large blue shockwave sent out in a bubble around her, skimming over Ribbon Girl and Min Min without note, but leaving a devastating effect on the creature latched to Brass’ head.

The hybrid fell to Brass’ knees as it began to shudder and spark, before it shrieked and a bright purple light shone out from the gaps in its metal plating. The head fell forward and the light faded, with its red eyes being extinguished all the same. Then, after a moment of suspense, it popped right off of Brass’ head and flew off into the sky with a laugh.

“I-It’s gone??” Biff splurted over the intercom in disbelief. The remaining crowd, though sparse, cheered wildly. “But how’s Max doing??”

Brass sat on the stage floor in something of a daze, before shaking it head quickly and snapping out of it. He got to his feet and cheered, his hands up in the air, before striking a pose, doing a quick roll, and coming up beside the trio with a bright smile and flex of his incredible muscles.

The crowd cheered for Brass, but loudest of all of them was a cheerful “ _ Woo! _ ” from Ribbon Girl. Min Min and Mechanica followed, cheering at the sight of a wake and healthy Commish. He grave a grand thumbs-up to Ribbon Girl, before turning back to the crowd and playing to his adoring fans.

Min Min slung her ARM around Ribbon Girl’s shoulder. “Well. This was certainly eventful.”

Ribbon Girl let out an heavy laugh. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for today.” She rested her head on Min Min’s ARM. “I’m  _ really _ hungry.”

“Yeah, I think we’re done here.” She took her mask off and the ARM beneath Ribbon Girl’s head returned to its curled up form. “Not gonna lie… But I’m kinda in the mood for steak.”

Ribbon Girl laughed again, more energetic and cheerfully than she had in a long, long while. “Me too! Steak sounds great.” She smiled softly. “Do you like steak, Mechy?~”

Mechancia’s eyes perked up. She had forgotten for a moment that she was there, physically with the two of them, and not just watching from afar. “I-uh…. Wha-?”

“Steak dinner.” Ribbon Girl smiled. “Brass says it’s to die for. You comin’?”

She was in stunned silence for a moment. “I-I-” She cleared her throat, speaking quietly. “O-Okay!”

“I think I owe you one.” Ribbon Girl winked.


	7. Epilogue

“Your steak, _Ms. Champion._ ” The waiter placed down a large plate in front of Ribbon Girl. Sat atop it was a gorgeous medium-rare steak dribbled with a thick peppercorn sauce, with some fried potatoes and salad to the side. “Will that be all?”

The trio all smiled and sent the waiter on his way, leaving them to admire their meals. Mechanica put her phone back into her pocket, having checked up the latest news feed. “Apparently the metal head thing is named ‘Hedlok’. It escaped from the ARMS Laboratory, but they don’t know how it got out yet. People think someone might have let it out intentionally.”

“Weird.” Min Min picked up her bowl of ramen, smelling it. “They’re a weird bunch, the lab. Helix is one thing, but a big metal body snatcher?”

“Well, we took care of it!” Ribbon Girl smiled, cutting into her steak. “And we couldn’t have done it without you, Mechy.”

Mechanica smiled warmly, picking up her cutlery. “I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time with the training, Ribbon Girl.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She replied quickly. “I was really stressed, and I wish I hadn’t taken it out on you like that. It was really sweet of you to help.” She squeezed Mechanica’s cheek. “And call me Ribs! Min Min does.”

“O-Okay, Ribs!” She smiled brightly back.

“Bleh.” Min Min put her ramen bowl back on the table. “Far too salty.” She pushed it aside and slide her steak plate in front of her. “Still, it’s good to know we’re ahead of the competition~” They laughed, digging into their meals. “So what now, hun?”

Ribbon Girl took a deep breath. “Now? I think I’m gonna take a back seat from fighting for a little while. Maybe focus more on my music.”

“I’m all for that!” Chimed Mechanica with a smile.

“But _first_ -” Ribbon Girl laughed. “Maybe I need a little holiday.”

She placed the fork in her mouth and took her first succulent bite. She had learnt a lot over this past week and certainly from the previous day. She learnt a lot about dealing with stress around friends and loved ones. She learnt a lot about letting her emotions get the better of her.

She learnt a lot about what’s important in life when you go up against what stands before you and what you perceive to be important to you. And she learnt a lot about Max Brass, the man she reviled so strongly for two long years before realizing what a proud and honourable man he really was.

But most of all, she learnt one thing: Max Brass has _awful_ taste in peppercorn sauce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my fic! I hope you enjoyed it <3 I'll be starting another ARMS fic shortly, so I hope you'll enjoy that one too~
> 
> \- TheMaskHero


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